Rupture at city sewer plant causes alert

From Staff

Published Saturday, September 09, 2000

An early morning rupture of a 20-inch sewer line at the Riberia Street Sewage Treatment Plant has caused City of St. Augustine officials, the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the St. Johns County Health Department to issue an alert regarding possible contamination of waters in the marsh area on the extreme south end of Riberia Street.

The rupture has caused some effluent to flow into the marsh area near the plant with some possible seepage into the Intracoastal waterway.

City Utilities Director John Regan and officials of DEP and the Health Department are closely monitoring the situation and are collecting samples for ongoing analysis and tests.

As a precaution, the area immediately adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant will be posted with "No Swimming, No Fishing and No Drinking the Water'' signs.

The flow of sewage was stopped quickly and the complete clean-up of the area was expected to be completed by early Friday evening.